Economist and bestselling author Dambisa Moyo discusses America's economic future and her book, *How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly—and the Stark Choices Ahead*. In *How the West Was Lost*, Moyo sheds light on how a host of shortsighted policy decisions have left the economic seesaw poised to tip away from America and toward the emerging world. Faced with this impending calamity, the United States can choose either to remain open to the international economy or to close itself off, adopting protectionist policies that will give the country time and space to redress these pervasive structural problems.
Born and raised in Zambia, Dambisa Moyo holds a Doctorate in Economics from Oxford University. In 1997, she earned a Master of Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She has worked for the World Bank as a consultant and at Goldman Sachs in the debt capital markets and as an economist on the global macroeconomics team. In 2009, Time magazine named Moyo as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World." She was also featured on Oprah Winfrey's list of 20 remarkable visionaries, and was nominated to the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders Forum. Her writing regularly appears in economic and finance-related publications such as the Financial Times, the Economist and the Wall Street Journal. Her critically acclaimed first book, Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How there is a Better Way for Africa, argues that foreign aid has harmed Africa and that it should be phased out – “a compelling case for a new approach to Africa" according to former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Her second book, How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly - And the Stark Choices that Lie Ahead, is scheduled for publication in February 2011.